Written by

Jeanne Muchnick

For The Journal News

The Expert:

Source Box

More green design helpGreen Design Expo640 Central Park Avenue, Scarsdale 914-902-5305, www.greendesignexpo.netThis is a one-stop shop for everything from green flooring, paint and design materials to interior accents like lighting, tile, and wall coverings. There is an entire staff on hand to help you make your home a green place. Gemini Watanabe/Summit Street DesignShe is a Rockland-based kitchen designer who specializes in green design, as in cabinets with no formaldehyde, environmentally friendly linoleum and more. 917-371-4820,www.summitstreetdesign.com

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I like edamame just as much as the next person, but who knew you could get it laminated in a vase or as a one-of-a-kind wall hanging? Ditto banana leaf, coconut and fig. As my kids get greener (and chastise me for using water bottles even though I dutifully recycle), so, too, do we all need to consider being more Earth-conscious when it comes to our homes.

Not sure where to find help? Green Earth Design Co. may be just a stone’s throw away in Mamaroneck, but everything in the store is produced at the company’s factory in Cebu, in the Philippines. “We produce items you cannot find anywhere else,” says owner Mitchell Siegel, who has been in this business for 25-plus years.

“When I first started doing this kind of work, people looked at me and didn’t quite get it,” he says of his wood-carved coffee tables, mollusk-shelled wall hangings, and decorative art. “But every day I get more and more interest from area residents looking to bring more environmental awareness into their homes.”

His inventory of accessories, furniture, lamps, hangings and more — many of which are quite large and are all handmade — are conversation pieces unto themselves, ideal for filling spaces where you want to make a statement but have no idea what to use. His staff will, in fact, deliver a piece over to your home and let you live with it for a few days to see if you’re truly comfortable at no charge (large pieces only).

For those not quite ready for that kind of commitment, Siegel offers other suggestions.

'Wow' your walls

You don’t need much to make a statement. Often, one piece is enough. Among his top sellers: 36- or 48-inch diameter wall hangings in a variety of textures, which are then laminated onto a wood base (other sizes available). The options are striking in their simplicity and include a white tobacco vein wall plate (made from the delicate veins from a tobacco leaf placed over a fine layer of white resin), an amoeba wall plate (hand-cut abalone and kabebe shell set in a distinctive design), dried elephant grass cleverly paired with flowing brass wire set in white toner, and laminated mother of pearl shell, among other assortments; prices in the $1,500 range.

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Bring the outdoors in

Bet you don’t know many people who have sun-bleached Kamagong sculptures in their home. These exotic woods, indigenous to the Philippines, are something Siegel’s store specializes in. “They’re ideal for filling large spaces when you have no idea what will work,” he says.

Apparently, Kamagong vines and branches grow naturally in a spiral formation. These reclaimed wood pieces are cut and tacked together in an aesthetically pleasing way and mounted on a steel base, and then backlit with a colored light bulb, like a soft gold.

Sculpture sizes vary from 4 feet to 9 feet. One, in fact, was just placed in a scene with Ashton Kutcher in the TV show, “Two and a Half Men.” Prices range from $1,500 to $4,000.

Accessorize

Picture frames, coasters, decorated trays, accent bowls, lamps, candles and various sized Buddhas are another way to jazz up your space and show your “green” side without breaking the bank. A popular seller at Green Earth Design are the array of balls made of tobacco leaf, seashells, mother of pearl, rice stalks and more, which can be placed in a bowl or vase or hung on wall racks.

Take your vase off the table — and put it on the floor. Green Earth Design specializes in floor vases (think 71 inches by 14 inches) in the same textures and designs as the wall hangings.

So, for example, you could opt for a mollusk shell design featuring thousands of hand-painted snail and squid shells, a bamboo epiphany model made with an energetic burst of dried rattan stalk, or go for a chestnut banana leaf option. Prices in the $700 range.

Green your body

Coming this summer: A juice bar featuring drinks made with kale, beets, carrots, collard greens and other healthy combinations. “You can sip while you shop,” says Siegel.